United in the common goal to uplift and inspire, Dear Tatiana is comprised of front-man and production mastermind Thayne Brown, drummer Michael Fallas, guitarist Michael Gonzalez, and Hunter Burdette on bass. The mediums with which they weave their sonic tapestry are tight beats, uplifting melodies and dynamic lyrical flow. Dear Tatiana are tried-and-true performers, creating an all-encompassing and unforgettable live experience. Their high-energy stage show ignites the audience and captivates the entire venue. The crowd at the SunFest music festival in West Palm Beach got to witness that first hand when the band was invited to open for Kaskade and Fall Out Boy in May 2015.

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Chris Remmers: A good place to start would be telling us a little bit about where you grew up. How did that influence you to become a vocalist?

Thayne Brown: I grew up in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Sunrise to be exact. It had a lot of influences because of all the music we always had around us — just the melting pot that Florida is. You’re influenced by so many different genres. It all made me want to get involved with making my own sound. That’s what I started doing and now we’re here.

TB: Definitely going to be Kanye West. It’s just for all those same reasons. He was able to take a bunch of different sounds and pioneer this new sound of hip-hop, where at the time it just wasn’t the major sound. At the time Kanye West came around Lil Jon was really big. Everything was kind of like “hype” and “party”. Then Kanye’s first single came out “Through the Wire” and it was just different. It was just different from everything that was on the radio. Even the music video was different. That’s why he was a major influence and major inspiration on my career, as a vocalist and as a producer.

CR: Yeah, he does it all. I remember back in the day when he was first branching out he produced more things than I think people even realize today. Then he wanted to become a rapper and so many people said, “You can’t do this,” or, “You don’t have the rapper sound.” He just said I’m going to do this. That’s the kind of mentality that you need in this industry.

TB: Yeah, exactly. It’s a similar approach that we’re taking. I started out as a producer. Producing on a bunch of different tracks for a bunch of different artists. I just had this sound that I couldn’t really attach to any one person. I just felt like I had to do it. Now we’re doing it, it’s really fun and people are really taking to it. I’m having a really good time making music and I hope I keep doing it.

CR: Absolutely! Anyone that has a drive will be okay. Out of all the cities that you’ve performed in or been to for shows, were there any that stood out in terms of crowd atmosphere and did that line up with the nightlife?

TB: Yeah, it’s actually really weird, because we’re here in Orlando and we have a good amount of touring bands that come to the area. What’s crazy is we’re here all the time and go downtown and have a good time, but we went to this show and You, Me, and Everyone We Know was in town. They’re one of my favorite bands of all time. They played their show and it was one of the best ones I’ve ever been too. After that show let out the atmosphere that was in the city was incredible. Everyone was continuing that energy. They kept it going from the show. It was so much fun and it was where we live. It wasn’t like we went to their town. They came to us.

CR: That’s awesome when you’re in your hometown when the parties are going crazy or it’s just a completely different atmosphere. We just covered South by Southwest and when we went down there everyone was saying how the city isn’t normally like this outside of the conference. It was one of the best experiences of my life. Definitely relatable.

TB: That’s definitely one of the major goals for myself as an artist and the whole crew. SXSW sounds like a great time. I can’t wait until we go.

CR: When you go to a new destination, what are the first things you like to find and do?

TB: Every time we go to a new town the best thing I like to do is explore. I kind of like to get a feel for where I’m going to be, the general area. Find the major landmarks and kind of work my way and expand from there. Eventually, as I feel comfortable, get a little lost, but it’s kind of hard to get lost when you have Google Maps and stuff.

CR: Yeah, now when you get lost you just don’t have a phone. How would you say music and travel really fit together in your life?

TB: In my life music and travel are super important. I actually just took a huge trip out to the West Coast for the first time with my manager. We were out there and we made this playlist and we were just listening to music and driving. We went from Denver to the [Rocky Mountains] in Colorado to [Las Vegas] to San Francisco to [Los Angeles] and then back to the Grand Canyon. We then drove back to Colorado and flew back to Florida. We went to the car and drove that whole thing.

CR: That’s incredible. I’m so envious. I’m going to Colorado in May. It’s my first time and I can’t wait.

TB: It is an amazing place. We loved it, because we’re from Florida and we never get to see snow. Going from Florida in December to Colorado in December is a complete 180°. It was incredible. I went snowboarding for the first time. It was just a great experience.

CR: What would you suggest a first-time visitor to see in the west in general. Was there something that stuck our more than anything else?

TB: Yeah, for sure. When I was driving through Colorado and Utah the mountains out there are incredible. They are incredible! Being from Florida you get to see nothing but flat land. You don’t see any mountains. It’s all flat land. Then driving through Utah you have this kind of mountain and another that looks like a hat. It’s just crazy out there. I would definitely suggest the scenery. If you can stop and take in some of the sights that would be amazing.

CR: That’s great man! Everyone has a bucket list. What are three on yours that you still have to go to?

TB: Yeah, for sure. On our new record we just released we have this song on there called “Wanderlust”, and it’s all about that. It’s all about traveling. I name some places at the end. I say I want to see everything, but if I had to pick three I’m thinking France, Spain and Tokyo.

TB: For Spain, I really want to see the beach over there. I have a friend that went to school in Spain and she said that they were awesome. I really, really want to experience that for myself. France, of course the Eiffel Tower and just to see all the sights there. Then Tokyo, it’s electric man, all the lights. I really want to see all that stuff.

CR: Lastly, where is your next journey to, or what’s the next stepping stone in your career?

TB: What we’re trying to do right now is get out on tour, get on the road and just meet everyone. It’s all about that music and travel thing. We just want to play music while we’re on the road. We’re looking to go places like Atlanta, Baltimore, Cleveland, New Jersey, New York, Tennessee, New Orleans and Chicago. Those are some of the places that we’re looking to hit this summer.